Li Yuanhong

Li Yuanhong (19 October 1864-3 June 1928) was President of the Republic of China from 7 June 1916 to 17 July 1917, succeeding Yuan Shikai and preceding Feng Guozhang, and again from 11 June 1922 to 13 June 1923, succeeding Zhou Ziqi and preceding Gao Lingwei.

Biography
Li Yuanhong was born in Huangpi, Hubei, China in 1864, and he served as an engineer during the First Sino-Japanese War. In 1910, while serving in the army, he attempted to break up revolutionary rings that had infiltrated his 21st Mixed Brigade, dismissing revolutionaries rather than arresting them. In 1911, during the Wuchang Uprising, the revolutionaries decided to make Li the figurehead of their uprising, forcing him at gunpoint to become Governor of Hubei. He later became a convinced revolutionary and rose to become military governor of China, serving as Vice-President under Sun Yat-sen from 1912 to 1916. However, he supported Yuan Shikai against Sun during the Second Revolution, as he held conservative views. Li refused to rebel against Yuan and become president, but he also refused to accept the title of Prince, hoping to preserve himself. From 1916 to 1917, he served as President of the Republic of China, succeeding Yuan on his death. Li declared war on the German Empire during World War I with the goal of increasing his standing with the Great Powers, and he also served as President of China from 1922 to 1923. Cao Kun overthrew Li in a military coup that same year, and Li died in Tianjin in 1928.